Chapter 16 of The Brotherhood of Consolation is here in full — 161 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of The Brotherhood of Consolation is here in full — 161 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“What, that little fellow?” “Yes, that little Morand, who was formerly Barbet’s clerk. It seems they expect a good bit of money out of the affair.” “There’s a good bit to spend,” said Godefroid, with a significant grimace. Just then a gentle rap was heard at the door of the outer room.
Chapter 16 of The Brotherhood of Consolation is here in full — 161 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/32 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
a vaguely specified concern
From this reading “It seems they expect a good bit of money out of the affair.””
an employee who performs clerical work (e.g., keeps records or accounts)
From this reading ““Yes, that little Morand, who was formerly Barbet’s clerk.”
at a previous time
From this reading ““Yes, that little Morand, who was formerly Barbet’s clerk.”
contort the face to indicate a certain mental or emotional state
From this reading ““There’s a good bit to spend,” said Godefroid, with a significant grimace.”
being on the outside or further from a center
From this reading “Just then a gentle rap was heard at the door of the outer room.”
a reproach for some lapse or misdeed
From this reading “Just then a gentle rap was heard at the door of the outer room.”
important in effect or meaning
From this reading ““There’s a good bit to spend,” said Godefroid, with a significant grimace.”
use up a period of time in a specific way
From this reading ““There’s a good bit to spend,” said Godefroid, with a significant grimace.”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading It seems they expect a good bit of money out of the affair.”
a vaguely specified concern
From this reading It seems they expect a good bit of money out of the affair.”
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Just then a gentle rap was heard at the door of the outer room.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Yes, that little Morand, who was formerly Barbet’s clerk.
a small piece or quantity of something
From this reading It seems they expect a good bit of money out of the affair.”
an employee who performs clerical work (e.g., keeps records or accounts)
From this reading “Yes, that little Morand, who was formerly Barbet’s clerk.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading Just then a gentle rap was heard at the door of the outer room.
regard something as probable or likely
From this reading It seems they expect a good bit of money out of the affair.”
a boy or man
From this reading “What, that little fellow?”
at a previous time
From this reading “Yes, that little Morand, who was formerly Barbet’s clerk.
soft and mild; not harsh or stern or severe
From this reading Just then a gentle rap was heard at the door of the outer room.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “There’s a good bit to spend,” said Godefroid, with a significant grimace.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading It seems they expect a good bit of money out of the affair.”
contort the face to indicate a certain mental or emotional state
From this reading “There’s a good bit to spend,” said Godefroid, with a significant grimace.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading Just then a gentle rap was heard at the door of the outer room.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It seems they expect a good bit of money out of the affair.”
and nothing more
From this reading Just then a gentle rap was heard at the door of the outer room.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading “What, that little fellow?”
the most common medium of exchange; functions as legal tender
From this reading It seems they expect a good bit of money out of the affair.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Yes, that little Morand, who was formerly Barbet’s clerk.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading It seems they expect a good bit of money out of the affair.”
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading It seems they expect a good bit of money out of the affair.”
being on the outside or further from a center
From this reading Just then a gentle rap was heard at the door of the outer room.
a reproach for some lapse or misdeed
From this reading Just then a gentle rap was heard at the door of the outer room.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading Just then a gentle rap was heard at the door of the outer room.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “There’s a good bit to spend,” said Godefroid, with a significant grimace.
third-person singular of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading It seems they expect a good bit of money out of the affair.”
important in effect or meaning
From this reading “There’s a good bit to spend,” said Godefroid, with a significant grimace.
use up a period of time in a specific way
From this reading “There’s a good bit to spend,” said Godefroid, with a significant grimace.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “What, that little fellow?”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading It seems they expect a good bit of money out of the affair.”
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Just then a gentle rap was heard at the door of the outer room.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “There’s a good bit to spend,” said Godefroid, with a significant grimace.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading It seems they expect a good bit of money out of the affair.”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “There’s a good bit to spend,” said Godefroid, with a significant grimace.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “Yes, that little Morand, who was formerly Barbet’s clerk.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “What, that little fellow?”
which person or people
From this reading “Yes, that little Morand, who was formerly Barbet’s clerk.
in the company of; together with
From this reading “There’s a good bit to spend,” said Godefroid, with a significant grimace.
an affirmative
From this reading “Yes, that little Morand, who was formerly Barbet’s clerk.
Chapter 16 of The Brotherhood of Consolation by Honoré de Balzac holds 161 sentences, grouped into 33 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 16 holds 161 sentences of The Brotherhood of Consolation, unabridged, divided into 33 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of The Brotherhood of Consolation by Honoré de Balzac exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 161 sentences, grouped into 33 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 33 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 33 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 16 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading The Brotherhood of Consolation by Honoré de Balzac on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3430 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1967 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1967, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 285 minutes of reading across 686 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Brotherhood of Consolation section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 22 chapters of The Brotherhood of Consolation to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in The Brotherhood of Consolation, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
